2012 Awards

The 4th National Enterprise Educator Awards were hosted at the Plymouth Hoe on the 13th September 2012.


Enterprise Educator Award – sponsored by the Higher Education Academy

TeamVenture – Creating entrepreneurial teams with matchmaking technology
University of Hertfordshire

“The idea of the intervention was to create teams that are balanced in themselves in terms of cognitive styles (a predictor for quality), as well as balanced across the whole class, avoiding the very strong vs very weak team pitfall ensuing if no consideration is paid to teamformation. To this end I firstly consulted existing literature on team composition, particularly in a startup context. The findings informed the development of a psychometric questionnaire, that students would complete to identify their cognitive style. In a second step an algorithm was developed that sorts students into balanced teams based on their psychometric profile. The result is TeamMatch, an easy to use web application to improve teamlearning. TeamMatch was completed with the support of enlisted friends who are professional web-developers, and piloted on the Enterprise module with over 1,000 students. TeamMatch proved to be a resounding success; it enabled the teaching team to provide students with the latest entrepreneurial tools (business model canvas, lean startup), stimulate their creativity in a double-tutorial ideation process and effectively support them in developing business ideas in teams (230 teams!) It enabled a realist teaching of enterprise as process that inherently relies on interdependence.”

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Enterprise Champion Award – sponsored by SimVenture

FLUX Partnership
Plymouth University Careers Service & Working Knowledge

“In partnership with Working Knowledge, the aim of Plymouth University has been to use FLUX as a way of engaging students in the possibility of setting up their own business, while at the same time using FLUX events to develop the employability skills of our students. This has been a long term developmental process over six years, each year growing our engagement with students, staff and employers to the stage where;

  •  University FLUX is a high profile “sell out” event in our annual calendar- We have embedded FLUX in the curriculum on a diverse range of academic programmes
  •  We are training students to deliver FLUX events as a widening participation activity, giving our students a wider view of entrepreneurship and the skills needed to be successful
  • Through our college events we are inspiring young people to engage in the possibility of setting up their own businesses”

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Student Educator Award – sponsored by the Peter Jones Enterprise Academy and Pearson College

Herts Entrepreneurs
University of Hertfordshire

“Since October 2011, Herts Entrepreneurs have hosted, collaborated and organised events and activities aimed to encourage the growth of our enterprise culture, within and around Hertfordshire. Herts Entrepreneurs, from the University of Hertfordshire is one of the most active and pioneering societies within the NACUE community; recently recognised by receiving the NACUE Network Builder Award 2012. For Herts Entrepreneurs to satisfy our aim of improving Hertfordshire’s enterprising culture, committing to the delivery of support for all types of entrepreneurs was needed. With this in mind the society has reached out to different faculties outside of the University’s Business School; including Law, Creative Arts and Humanities. Our objectives within these schools were very different. A society run by students, for students, with the aim of inspiring a generation was never going to be easy; but the society recruited 489 members and has engaged 1600 students in the last 7 months.”

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Society Champions Award – sponsored by NACUE

Suzanne Auty
Durham University

“Entrepreneurs Durham. SIFE Durham is a society where any student can get actively involved in projects which empower people in need using business and entrepreneurial ideas. Projects have ranged from helping an entrepreneur draw up an effective business plan, or helping unemployed youths gain employability skills, through to international projects that have changed the lives of an entire community. SIFE Durham was founded at the end of the last academic year, with Suzanne’s help; the society has over 600 members and is successfully running six projects. Entrepreneurs Durham delivers events programmes and runs business projects to actively promote entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial behaviours amongst the student community. Suzanne has supported the marketing, the funding and the logistical requirements of the enterprise agenda at Durham University over the last year and her support has had a massive impact.”

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